Jose de Jesus Ortiz

First baseman-designated hitter Brett Wallace, who was shipped back to Class AAA Oklahoma City after starting the season 1-for-24 in the team’s first seven games, was thrown back into the starting lineup Tuesday in his first day back in the majors. “I think it’s extremely important,” manager Bo Porter said of Wallace’s opportunity. “Whenever you […]
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Carlos Pena’s walk-off heroics wouldn’t have been possible without Carlos Corporan’s game-tying solo home run in the eighth inning. “That was an amazing at-bat (by Corporan),” said Pena, who drilled a walk-off, three-run homer in the 10th to win 7-4. ‘That pitch was a perfectly executed slider down and in. I have no idea how […]
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Although Carlos Pena received much of the accolades Thursday afternoon because of his walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning, the Astros wouldn’t have defeated the Brewers 7-4 without another impressive performance from the bullpen. Lefthander Wesley Wright (one inning), righthander Jose Cisnero (1 2/3 innings), Jose Veras (one inning) and Hector Ambriz (one […]
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Box score By the time the Astros’ celebration was over, Carlos Pena’s hair was a sticky mess. His face, covered in shaving cream, wasn’t much better. Some teammates poured Gatorade on him. Others threw water at him, and a few others showered him with ice. A polished veteran who takes obvious pride in his appearance, […]
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Astros right fielder Trevor Crowe was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder Thursday afternoon. The Astros will purchase the contract of Class AAA Oklahoma City outfielder-first baseman Marc Krauss to take Crowe’s spot on the roster. Crowe was injured when he slammed into right field wall […]
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Lefthanded pitcher Austin Nicely, who grew up in Virginia admiring former Astros closer Billy Wagner, reneged on a commitment to the University of Virginia to begin his professional career with his favorite major leaguer’s former team. The Astros gave Nicely a reported $610,000 signing bonus, which was almost $500,000 above the $139,400 recommended slot value, […]
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Astros lefthander Erik Bedard pitched a season-high 7 1/3 innings while holding the Brewers to four hits and one run with a season high-tying eight strikeouts. The outing was Bedard’s longest since he pitched for the Mariners against the Padres on May 20, 2011. Bedard wanted to go out for the eighth, so Bo Porter […]
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Box score Reliever Hector Ambriz prides himself on remaining steady throughout the year, never getting too high nor too upset. Nonetheless, his performance definitely ate at him Wednesday night. Brought in to protect a one-run lead with a runner at second in the eighth inning, Ambriz paid dearly for hanging a slider to Rickie Weeks. […]
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As No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel walked toward righthander Jordan Lyles behind the batting cage at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday afternoon, a top club official leaned over to the Astros’ new ace and said, “He’s going to make a great No. 2 for you.” The modest Lyles, who is one of the hottest […]
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Two days after Bud Norris admittedly cost himself by failing to make a play he assumed he should have made, Astros manager Bo Porter put his pitchers through a previously scheduled fielding practice Wednesday afternoon. “We actually had this thing on the schedule,” Porter said. “I’m not one of those reactionary type people. These guys […]
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In a season that must ultimately be judged by how the Astros grow and weed out the pretenders, righthander Jordan Lyles is one of the biggest reasons for hope at Minute Maid Park. At 22, the big righthander from South Carolina might already be the Astros’ ace. He’s that good. Coming off a career-high 10 […]
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SEATTLE – Out of uniform and icing his precious right arm, Jordan Lyles sat all alone on a couch inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Safeco Field. He didn’t exactly scream at the television, but he was cheering nonetheless as his Astros teammates scored six runs in the ninth against the Mariners to snap their six-game […]
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SEATTLE – The music was back on in the Astros’ clubhouse late Wednesday night at Safeco Field. The smiles returned, and the players stood a little taller, prouder and definitely relieved. In peril of suffering their second consecutive shutout and their second straight three-game sweep, the Astros finally came to life with six runs in […]
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Box score SEATTLE – In peril of suffering their second consecutive shutout and their second consecutive sweep, the Astros finally came to life with six runs in the ninth inning to snap their six-game losing streak. Down to their final two outs with the bases loaded in the ninth, Chris Carter hit a two-run double […]
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